


8. "Wanna bet?"

by miraculeuxnoir (redhoodedwolf)



Series: Drabble Challenge [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marichat May, Marinette POV, Oblivious Adrien, just general cuteness, marinette and chat make a bet and a few things are shared, oblivious marinette, rooftop chats (no pun intended)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 16:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6994861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhoodedwolf/pseuds/miraculeuxnoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Oh, I’m sure I could figure out whatever secret you’re hiding before you figure out mine.”<br/>Marinette smirks, arms crossing over her chest. “Wanna bet?” she asks, feeling confidence fill her. There’s no way Chat could ever figure out that she’s Ladybug.<br/>Not that she has much of an advantage learning Chat’s identity, but still. She has confidence on her side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	8. "Wanna bet?"

**Author's Note:**

> part of a drabble challenge i am doing on tumblr so originally posted there

Marinette’s not sure exactly when Chat became a nightly staple in her room. They’d first interacted only during a few akuma attacks, times when Marinette had not been able to transform into Ladybug yet.

About half a year into the Ladybug/Chat Noir stint, Marinette had run into a sprinting Chat Noir who was thirty seconds away from detransforming in the middle of a busy street. She’d understood his panic, having been in a similar situation a minute before, so she helped shove him into a secluded alley, kept her back to it, and made sure no one would be there to catch the boy in the act. Chat had shouted his thanks at her after saying the coast was clear, and she left with a nod without a glance back.

A few days later, he’d stopped by to thank her properly, a short meeting through her bedroom window. 

Two days later, her mother informed her that one of Paris’ superheroes had stopped in to order some pastries and asked them to say hello to Marinette for him. Later that evening, Marinette found herself sharing the pastries on her roof with Chat, finding the companionship... nice.

Marinette knew Chat, or at least she thought she did, as Ladybug, but he was more open with her as Marinette. Maybe it was the exhaustion, because he usually stopped by at night, but the chaton became rather loose-lipped around her.

And Marinette liked hanging out with her partner, especially when his flirty come-ons are few and far between, most of them surrounding the nickname he’d apparently stuck onto her like glue: Princess.

“A princess needs a prince, is all I’m saying,” Chat Noir says, snapping Marinette out of her thoughts on the boy. 

“Not necessarily,” she counters easily. Marinette finds it simple to converse with Chat, none of the fumbling she had when first getting to know Adrien. 

Chat bows his head. “Or a princess, I suppose, but going by the--” He cleared his throat, cheeks pinking slightly, most likely from the night’s cold, before continuing, “ _posters_ of that model-boy in your room, I’d say you’re vying for a prince.”

Marinette feels her cheeks inflame. “Maybe so,” she chokes out. “But not right now. Er--” She cuts herself off with a laugh, shaking her head lightly. “I have other things to worry about than that.”

“Like what?” Chat asks, leaning forward a little more into her space, interest obvious on his face.

Marinette scrambles for a second, to come up with something. She couldn’t very well say ‘Ladybug duties’ now could she? “Ahh, school. You know, the bakery. And other. Stuff.” She forces back a wince.

Chat does not look convinced in the least. He hums, amusement sparking in his eyes. “Alright, have your secrets.”

“I’m allowed to have something for myself,” Marinette defends.

“Of course!” Chat declares. “Why, I hold a rather large secret myself.” Chat winks at her, sweeping an arm up and down his body, gesturing to his suit. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t tease you and try to get you to tell me.”

Marinette rolls her eyes at his smirk. “Oh really?”

“Oh, I’m sure I could figure out whatever secret you’re hiding before you figure out mine.”

Marinette smirks, arms crossing over her chest. **“Wanna bet?** ” she asks, feeling confidence fill her. There’s no way Chat could ever figure out that she’s Ladybug.

Not that she has much of an advantage learning Chat’s identity, but still. She has confidence on her side.

Chat grins back at her, and he appears confident as well. “Very well, Princess. A bet. What happens if I win?”

“Satisfaction is reward enough, is it not?” Marinette parries. “Especially for a curious kitty like yourself.”

Chat leans back on his elbows and smiles at her. “I suppose so.”

Marinette stares at him for a moment, letting the silence pass through before asking, “So, how do you plan to get my secret out of me?”

Chat turned his head to look at her, and a grin slowly spread across his face. “Patience, Princess. I’ll take my time. It’s not like there’s an expiration date on this bet, is there?”

Marinette purses her lips, traces her eyes over Chat’s face. Blond hair, green eyes (at least in the suit, but probably outside as well), slightly distended front teeth, slight muscular build, and if she recalls correctly, just a few inches taller than her. “Yeah, no expiration date,” she tells Chat belatedly.

He says nothing about her extended pause, however. He just smiles again and then turns to look back up at the night sky. “Beautiful sky, eh?”

“Yeah,” Marinette agrees, tearing her eyes away form her partner up to the sky where he gaze is drawn. “I wish I knew more about the constellations.” 

Chat looks over at her, and he seems confused as she stares back at him. He says without much thought behind the words, it seems, “But we just learned about them, like, last week in class.” His eyes widen suddenly. “Er, I did, at least,” the boy back-steps.

Marinette blinks twice. “Um... I missed a few days a couple weeks ago. That’s when my class was reviewing them, I think. Could you... tell me about them?”

Chat’s eyes light up. “S-sure!’ he readily agrees, scooting up next to her, close enough that their legs brush. 

Marinette keeps her eyes on Chat as he excitedly points towards the sky, making large gestures with his arms as he explains the myths behind the constellations. She leans in closer when he softly speaks about his personal favorite. He admits that it was his mothers, and Marinette squeezes his hand. 

“Hey, look!” Chat’s face brightens immediately and he points to the sky. “Look! What does that pattern of stars look like to you?”

He appears to be pointing to a cluster of stars that are close together, five twinkling bright in a somewhat-pattern. But she can’t discern it until Chat raises his hands, curves them into a circle, and then holds them up around the stars, like he could capture them. Then she sees it.

“Ladybug,” Marinette breathes.

Chat nods his head, grinning over at her. “Isn’t that cool?”

“It’s miraculous,” she attempts to joke.

Chat’s gaze goes sharp, and his arms drop to his lap. He stares at her for a long moment, and Marinette squirms under the force of those green eyes. 

“Miraculous. Yeah, a miraculous ladybug,” he mumbles, eyes still locked on her, as if he were in a trance.

“Uh...” Marinette laughs, trying to diffuse the tension. “Yeah, sure. But if you look just above it, there are two more dots, and if you connect it like a constellation, it could be a cat. Like you.”

Chat blinks rapidly, gaze shifting back up to the sky, and Marinette’s shoulders relax. A smile tilts at his lips as he, she guesses, sees what he sees. “I guess it’s all up to the eye of the beholder.”

“What, beauty?” Marinette inquires, looking back at him.

Chat smiles at her. “Sure,” he says. “Beauty.” 

**Author's Note:**

> My ML blog is miraculeuxnoir, if you're into sterek hmu at redhoodedwolf, and for all else I'm localwolfgoesawoo. I'm everywhere.


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